


Rippling Waters, Singing Skies

by Zazibine



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Ghosts, Grief/Mourning, Post-Apocalypse, Purple Prose, Some Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 03:28:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17655194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zazibine/pseuds/Zazibine
Summary: The world has shattered, and in the wake of the apocalypse, one man mourns his losses as he is haunted by the voice of his dead beloved.





	Rippling Waters, Singing Skies

  
I stand at the ocean's edge, taking in the beautiful glow of the sun upon the cold waters, but I am not here for the view. The sand stuck to my large boots crumbles to the ground as I shift my weight impatiently. I strain my ears, hoping to hear the voice of the one I long for, half-hoping that I will not have to listen anymore, that I could break my promises and stop seeking the answers to the questions that used to torture me so. I couldn't care less about such things now that everything has happened. Alas, my prayers go unanswered and all too soon the voice of my beloved echoes across the waves, rippling in an endless song full of hope and never-ending joy. How I hate that lovely tune...

I try to distract myself from the aching in my heart, try not to think about all the horrible moments that came into being. It sometimes seems they were created just to rip apart everything and everyone I know until the world becomes nothing more than a bloody and broken fragment of what it used to be. No such luck besets me. The images of the trees that once grew along this forsaken coastline drifts through my mind, followed by the mountains that were blasted to rubble to make room for the thousands of factories that dotted the landscape, the billowing yellow smog that blew from their smoke stacks that dyed the once blue sky a putrid shade of brown, and the terrible diseases that resulted from it. Breaking the silence, I asked,

"Was it destined to be destroyed? Was there anything we could do? Please...is it really as...hopeless...as it seems? How can I continue going on like this?" Surely she would answer, her voice still existed didn't it? She always knew the answers, she would be able to give me hope again, the way she used to...it wasn't like she was completely gone... I shook my head slowly, what was I thinking? She was no longer with me, she wouldn't answer... I tried to make myself believe this, but I couldn't. I couldn't imagine a world without her, I still can't! I look back out the horizon, squinting against the glare of the sun upon the water, listening once more to my beloved's sweet melody, desperately hoping for a change in tune, a waver, a pause, anything that might be considered an answer. The melody carries on as if it couldn't care less about my pleas, blissfully unaware of my suffering. I felt a searing pain of betrayal deep within my heart.

She had to answer, I needed her to, she would never leave me alone! I shook my head roughly, trying to rid myself of my doubts. I squeeze my eyes closed and try with everything I have to listen for an answer to why I should keep on living when there was nothing worth living for anymore. All that rewards me for my efforts is the sound of her laughter, serenading across the sea, tinkling like the sweetest of bells. I feel as if there is some one beside me, and I turn around abruptly, searching for the presence. A cold breathe of wind brushes against the bare skin upon the back of my neck, and I shiver as it whispers in the voice I know so well, the words,

"Listen to me, the world needs you..."

I feel a heat grow within me, anger, red and fiery hot. Slowly, it bubbles up from the depths of my being, and I begin to shake with rage. A wave of pure fury crashes upon me, spilling out from my mouth in the form of bitter, hate-filled words.

" What do you think I've been doing!? Every evening for the past five years, I have been out here keeping that stupid promise of mine, listening to you singing some stupid tune that is supposed to give me the answers I want! Every single day I hear your voice echoing from my memories, from the horizon, from the very sea that claimed you! Why!? Why are you still here?! You are GONE, lost, seperated from me forever! There isn't a single day, no matter how badly I want it, that goes by without me thinking of you! I waited here, I followed through on my promise to listen, no matter what, and you still haven't answered! Why I should carry on like this!? Why can't you leave me alone?!? Why?!"

I sank to my knees, my pounding head in my hands. I let out a strangled whisper, choked by long-denied emotion...

"Why...why.....why did you leave me in this nightmare....." Scalding tears poured down my cheeks, dropping softly into the sand. My whole world was spinning out of control, Earth was polluted beyond recognition, many of my friends lay dead or dying, struck down by the mysterious illness that had claimed so many lives already...and yet I am still here... Haven't I suffered enough? I curled up, burying my face into my knees, like if I could get small enough, I could disappear. Slowly, I felt a warmth surround me, and a voice I knew so well echoed in my ear.

"Do you know why I stepped onto the boat that day?" I shook my head as much as I could without showing my face and I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to shut out that beautiful, terrible voice.

"I did it because I thought that I could make a difference, that those samples could change the world. Earth is my home, and it's your home too. It is filled with wonderful things... it is time you realize that." I felt the presence of my beloved wrap something warm around my eyes, forcing me to close them. It was like I was being touched by a cloud... Images began to spiral across my mind, slowly at first, but with increasing urgency. Here, the scene of young mother and her baby, bound together with an unstoppable trust, there, a lone lake still untouched by human hands, a scene of a pair dancers spinning under a silver moon, oblivious to everyone but each other, a picture of a young girl presenting her ailing mother with a handful of wild flowers and her mother summoning almost all of her energy to smile back, and everywhere, the sound of laughter, of lullabies, and echoing all around, love, love, love...

Gently, she removed the warmth, and I carefully got to my feet. The visions faded, and for the first time in years, I smiled as I watched her fade away into nothing but a sweet, serenading song, and all too soon, that too was gone. Once more I looked out across the sapphire waves, into the setting sun, brimming with the confidence that comes from knowing that things will get better. She loved this world, and so do I. It was time for me to go save it...

**Author's Note:**

> This is an ooooold work, but I figured that I might as well post it here anyway. Hope you liked it!


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